Pimp C, who spun searing tales of Texas street life into a major role in the rise of Southern hip-hop, was found dead Tuesday at an upscale Los Angeles hotel. He was 33.

The rapper formed Underground Kingz with partner-in-rhyme Bun B while the pair were in high school, and their often-laconic delivery and wittily dangerous lyrics influenced a generation of current superstars. Rapper T.I. had the group on as guests when he remade their 1994 song “Front, Back and Side to Side” for his “King” album.

To a mainstream audience, Pimp C was best known for UGK's cameo on the Jay-Z hit “Big Pimpin' ” and for “Free Pimp C” T-shirts and shout-outs, ubiquitous in rap several years ago while he was in prison for gun convictions. After his death, his MySpace page had been changed to read, “C the Pimp is FREE at last.”

Pimp C, born Chad Butler, was found dead in a room at the Mondrian hotel, a longtime music-industry hangout not far from the House of Blues on Sunset Strip, where he had performed last Saturday night alongside rap veteran Too $hort. Capt. Ed Winter of the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office said Butler apparently had died while in bed in his hotel room.

“At this time there's no signs of foul play,” Winter said. “It appears to be possibly natural, but pending autopsy and toxicology we can't say the cause.”

Manager Rick Martin identified Pimp C, and his death was announced by publicist Nancy Byron.

“This morning saw the loss of a man that was not only a client, but a very dear friend at a time when he had the most to live for,” Martin said in a statement. “He was my best friend, and I will always love him.”

Although UGK never enjoyed massive pop-chart success, the group's early CDs are considered landmarks for the then-burgeoning Texas hip-hop scene, which also featured the Geto Boys. Signed to a deal with Jive Records, UGK released “Too Hard to Swallow” in 1992, “Super Tight” two years later and 1996's “Ridin' Dirty,” considered a rap classic.

Over laid-back beats, they set out incisive details that remain Southern rap mainstays: descriptions of sex and conspicuous consumption, wood-grain steering wheels and triple-beam scales used to weigh drugs.

The duo's career was derailed when Pimp C was imprisoned for three years in 2002 after his conviction on weapons charges. But he got as much exposure as ever, as the “Free Pimp C” slogan spread.

An unauthorized album of Pimp C's freestyle rhymes was released while he was in prison. When he and Bun B finally put out an album this year, they felt such a need to re-establish themselves that they titled their album “Underground Kingz,” as if to underscore a new start. It topped Billboard's album chart in August.

Critics praised the CD, which included the hit “International Player's Anthem (I Choose You),” featuring OutKast. Pimp C's verse riffs on high-class women and cars: “I'm pullin' Bentleys off the lot. Smashed up the gray one, bought me a red. Every time we hit the parking lot, we turn heads.”

Barry Weiss, CEO of Jive Records, said in a statement: “We mourn the unexpected loss of Chad. He was truly a thoughtful and kindhearted person. He will be remembered for his talent and profound influence as a pioneer in bringing Southern rap to the forefront.”

Pimp C, who grew up in Port Arthur, Texas, came from a musical lineage. His father was a professional trumpet player, and the rapper studied classical music in high school. He even received a Division I rating on a tenor solo at a University Interscholastic League choir competition.

“That's how I came up listening to everything,” he told The Associated Press in a 2005 interview. “Music don't have no color or no face. It's a universal language. I think being exposed to all that kind of stuff influences the way I make records.”